Viveca Lindfors (figure skater)

Viveca Lindfors (born 30 January 1999) is a Finnish retired figure skater. She is the 2019 European bronze medalist, 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy bronze medalist, 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy bronze medalist, 2018 Nordic champion, and the 2019 Finnish national champion.

Viveca Lindfors
Lindfors in 2018
Born	(1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 (age 25) Helsinki, Finland
Hometown	Helsinki
Height	1.59 m (5 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Finland
Skating club	Espoon Jäätaiturit
Began skating	2004
Retired	2020
Medal record Representing  Finland Figure skating: Ladies' singles European Championships 2019 Minsk Ladies’ Singles

Personal life

Viveca Lindfors was born on 30 January 1999 in Helsinki, Finland.^[1] She is the second eldest of five children.^[2] Her younger sisters, Monica and Fanny, and younger brother, Matias, have competed in figure skating, while her elder brother, Axel, is a hockey player.^[2][3] Monica Lindfors is the 2017 Finnish Junior ice dance champion with Juho Pirinen.^[4]

Career

Early career

Lindfors began learning to skate in 2004.^[1] She competed on the advanced novice level in the 2012–2013 season, winning silver at the Finnish Championships and bronze at the Triglav Trophy.

In 2013–2014, Lindfors moved up to the junior level. After taking bronze at the Finnish Championships, she won gold medals at Skate Helena and the Dragon Trophy.

2014–2015 season: Senior debut

Coached by Virpi Horttana at Espoon Jäätaiturit, Lindfors debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series, placing eighteenth at an October event in Zagreb, Croatia.^[5] She spent the rest of the season competing on the senior level. Appearing at her first ISU Challenger Series (CS) event, she finished tenth at the Warsaw Cup in November. After becoming the Finnish senior national bronze medalist, Lindfors won gold at Skate Helena and bronze at The Nordics. She concluded her season at the Hellmut Seibt Memorial, where she finished fourth.

2015–2016 season: Debut at Worlds and Europeans

Starting her season on the JGP series, Lindfors placed eleventh in Riga, Latvia and ninth in Toruń, Poland. She then competed at a pair of CS events, finishing fifth at the 2015 Finlandia Trophy and fourth at the 2015 Tallinn Trophy. In December, she finished fourth at the Finnish Championships, only 0.13 behind the bronze medal winner after winning the short program and placing fourth in the free skate. As the Finnish lady with the highest season's best, she was selected to compete at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia.^[6] She qualified for the free skate by placing eleventh in the short program and finished eighth overall in her ISU Championship debut.^[7] She won the silver medal at the 2016 Nordics Open.

In March, Lindfors placed twenty-fifth in the short program at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary; she missed the cut-off for the free skate by one spot. In April, she finished twentieth at the 2016 World Championships in Boston after placing twenty-third in the short and sixteenth in the free.

2016–2017 season

Lindfors and coach Horttana at the 2017 Junior World Championships

Lindfors had a back problem in the summer and autumn of 2016.^[8] She started her season by placing eleventh at the 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy and tenth at the 2016 CS Finlandia Trophy. At the 2017 Finnish Championships she won the bronze medal behind Emmi Peltonen and Jenni Saarinen, placing second in the short program and third in the free skate. She finished twenty-third at the 2017 European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic. She stated that she had a heart problem.^[9]

2017–2018 season

After placing tenth at the 2017 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Latvia, Lindfors competed at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final qualifying opportunity for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Due to her result, sixth, Finland received a spot in the Olympic ladies' event. In December, she finished second to Emmi Peltonen at the Finnish Championships.

In January, Lindfors placed fourteenth, five spots below Peltonen, at the 2018 European Championships in Moscow. Peltonen, therefore, was selected to represent Finland at the Olympics. Lindfors was assigned to the 2018 World Championships in Milan, where she placed sixteenth.

2018–2019 season: European bronze medal

Lindfors started her season at the 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy, placing third in the short program, sixth in the free, and fifth overall. In October, she won her first-ever Challenger Series medal – bronze at the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy. In November, she made her senior Grand Prix debut, placing eighth at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki, and won bronze at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy. The following month, she took gold at the Finnish Championships.

In January, at the 2019 European Championships in Minsk, Lindfors placed fourth in the short program, 0.03 points behind Alexia Paganini.^[10] In the free skate, she placed third, behind Sofia Samodurova and Stanislava Konstantinova, and won the bronze medal overall. She was the first Finnish skater to stand on the European podium since Kiira Korpi took silver in 2012. Speaking afterward, Lindfors said "It feels a bit surreal because I have wanted this, but at the same time I can't believe it's true."^[11]

Lindfors was named as Finland's sole ladies' entry to the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, but she subsequently withdrew due to injury.^[12]

2019–2020 season: Injury and retirement

Lindfors initially planned to compete at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy, but withdrew due to ongoing back problems. She subsequently withdrew from both of her Grand Prix assignments as well.^[13]

In late July, she announced her retirement from competitive figure skating, citing the fact that she was unable to train at an elite level because of her back problems, and announced that she would be attending University of Turku in the fall.^[14]

Programs

Lindfors at the 2018 European Championships

Season	Short program	Free skating
2018–2019	Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (from Phantom of the Opera) by Andrew Lloyd Webber	At the End of the Day I Dreamed a Dream (from Les Misérables) By Claude-Michel Schönberg
2017–2018 [15]		Cinderella by Patrick Doyle
2016–2017 [16]	Persian Dance (from The Snow Queen) by Tuomas Kantelinen choreo. by Sari Hakola	Don't Cry for Me Argentina (from Evita) by Andrew Lloyd Webber performed by Madonna I See You (from Avatar) by James Horner performed by Leona Lewis choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel
2015–2016 [17]		Don't Cry for Me Argentina (from Evita) by Andrew Lloyd Webber performed by Madonna choreo. by Sari Hakola
2014–2015 [5]	Titanium performed by The Piano Guys, Alexander Goldstein choreo. by Sari Hakola

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

Lindfors on the podium at the 2019 European Championships

International[18]
Event	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20
Worlds					20th		16th	WD
Europeans					8th	23rd	14th	3rd
GP Cup of China									WD
GP Finland								8th
GP NHK Trophy									WD
CS Finlandia					5th	10th	WD	3rd	WD
CS Lombardia						11th		5th
CS Nebelhorn							6th
CS Tallinn Trophy					4th	10th	10th	3rd
CS Warsaw Cup				10th
Dragon Trophy							2nd
Hellmut Seibt				4th
Int. Challenge Cup							7th		WD
Nordics				3rd	2nd	6th	1st
Skate Helena				1st
Tallink Hotels Cup								WD
International: Junior[18]
Junior Worlds					25th	14th	WD
JGP Croatia				18th
JGP Latvia					11th		10th
JGP Poland					9th
Dragon Trophy			1st
Nordics			4th
Skate Helena			1st
International: Advanced novice[19]
Bavarian Open	4th
Triglav Trophy		3rd
Warsaw Cup		12th
National[20]
Finnish Champ.	9th N	2nd N	3rd J	3rd	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
Levels: N = Advanced novice; J = Junior TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew

Detailed results

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. ISU Personal bests in bold.

2018–19 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 18-24, 2019	2019 World Championships	WD	WD	-
January 21-27, 2019	2019 European Championships	4 65.61	3 128.79	3 194.40
December 16-17, 2018	2019 Finnish Championships	1 62.89	1 112.02	1 174.91
November 26-December 2, 2018	2018 CS Tallinn Trophy	3 63.56	3 121.86	3 185.42
November 2-4, 2018	2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki	10 52.95	6 106.67	8 159.62
October 4-7, 2018	2018 CS Finlandia Trophy	6 57.69	2 129.50	3 187.19
September 12-16, 2018	2018 CS Lombardia Trophy	3 62.68	6 104.25	5 166.93
2017–18 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 19-25, 2018	2018 World Championships	13 60.18	16 106.05	16 166.23
February 22-25, 2018	2018 International Challenge Cup	9 50.06	6 99.19	7 149.25
February 8-11, 2018	2018 Dragon Trophy	1 60.79	2 99.68	2 160.47
February 1-4, 2018	2018 Nordic Championships	2 58.42	1 108.21	1 166.63
January 15-21, 2018	2018 European Championships	14 51.62	17 96.27	14 147.89
December 15-17, 2017	2018 Finnish Championships	2 59.89	2 100.00	2 159.89
November 21-26, 2017	2017 CS Tallinn Trophy	4 59.03	15 90.75	10 149.78
October 6-8, 2017	2017 CS Finlandia Trophy	18 43.12	WD	WD
September 27-30, 2017	2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	5 53.75	6 100.35	6 154.10
September 6-9, 2017	2017 JGP Latvia	10 46.47	9 90.47	10 136.94
2016–17 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 15–19, 2017	2017 World Junior Championships	10 55.50	15 88.03	14 143.53
March 2-5, 2017	2017 Nordic Championships	9 44.04	5 89.71	6 133.75
January 25–29, 2017	2017 European Championships	19 49.48	22 80.62	23 130.10
December 15–18, 2016	2017 Finnish Championships	2 52.43	3 86.08	3 138.51
October 6–9, 2016	2016 CS Finlandia Trophy	11 47.07	9 90.03	10 137.10
September 8–11, 2016	2016 CS Lombardia Trophy	9 52.71	12 88.24	11 140.95
2015–16 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 26 – April 3, 2016	2016 World Championships	23 50.18	16 102.75	20 152.93
February 24–28, 2016	2016 Nordic Championships	2 58.17	2 107.05	2 165.22
January 25–31, 2016	2016 European Championships	11 53.92	8 101.57	8 155.49
December 18–20, 2015	2016 Finnish Championships	1 58.27	4 93.39	4 151.66
November 18–22, 2015	2015 CS Tallinn Trophy	8 47.09	3 109.97	4 157.06
October 9–11, 2015	2015 CS Finlandia Trophy	7 51.14	5 99.98	5 151.12

References

1. "Viveca LINDFORS: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019.
2. "Let's meet: Viveca Lindfors (FIN)". International Skating Union. 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019.
3. "Viveca Lindfors hakee EM-kisoista uusia ennätyspisteitään ja kokemusta". Länsiväylä (in Finnish). 30 December 2015.
4. "Sula, Papp ja Lindfors & Pirinen taitoluistelun junioreiden Suomen mestareiksi" [Sula, Papp, Lindfors & Pirinen are Finnish Junior Champions] (in Finnish). Finnish Figure Skating Association. 18 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016.
5. "Viveca LINDFORS: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015.
6. "Suomen EM-kisajoukkue Bratislavaan 27.-31.1.2016 on valittu" [Finnish team to the European Championships] (in Finnish). Finnish Figure Skating Association. 21 December 2015.
7. "European Championships 2016". International Skating Union. 27 January 2016.
8. Heinonen, Ville (20 January 2017). "EM-kisoihin suuntaavat Emmi Peltonen ja Viveca Lindfors ovat jättäneet vaivat taakseen". Helsingin Uutiset (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 23 February 2017.
9. Smolander, Riikka (27 January 2017). "Emmi Peltonen hurmasi EM-yleisön - ennätyspisteet ensimmäisissä arvokisoissa". Yle (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 23 February 2017.
10. Slater, Paula (January 23, 2019). "Alina Zagitova: 'I need to be confident in myself'". Golden Skate.
11. Slater, Paula (January 25, 2019). "Samodurova shines; wins European ladies' title". Golden Skate.
12. Lindfors, Viveca (March 5, 2019). "Unfortunately I have to withdraw from World Championships due to a medical reason. Please look forward to seeing me again next season" (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
13. Holma, Joel (31 October 2019). "EM-pronssimitalisti Viveca Lindfors ei ole selättänyt selkävaivojaan ja kauden aloitus viivästyy – valmennuspäällikkö: "Selkä tarvitsee kuntoutusta"". Yle (in Finnish).
14. "Taitoluistelija Viveca Lindfors lopettaa uransa 21-vuotiaana" [Figure skater Viveca Lindfors will end her career at the age of 21] (in Finnish). July 27, 2020.
15. "Viveca LINDFORS: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018.
16. "Viveca LINDFORS: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017.
17. "Viveca LINDFORS: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016.
18. "Competition Results: Viveca LINDFORS". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018.
19. "Viveca LINDFORS". rinkresults.com.
20. "Viveca Lindfors" (in Finnish). Espoon Jäätaiturit. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015.

External links

• Media related to Viveca Lindfors (figure skater) at Wikimedia Commons
• Viveca Lindfors at the International Skating Union